Court fines 3 companies for Olympics ticket scam

3 companies fined more than $100,000 in total for illegal ticket sales at London Games

Associated Press

FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS - FILE - In this July 27, 2012 file photo, the Olympic rings light up the stadium during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool, File)

LONDON (AP) -- A British court has fined three companies a total of $113,000 for selling tickets for the London Olympics at "hugely inflated prices."

Sportsworld Group Ltd. was found guilty Tuesday of selling tickets in breach of Olympic legislation and fined $80,000. Imperial Corporate Events Limited and Events International pleaded guilty in September and were fined $16,000 each.

Detective Superintendent Nick Downing, who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, says "These companies exploited the public enthusiasm for the games."

The investigation focused on 74 tickets that were sold by Sportsworld, an authorized seller, to Corporate Events Limited and Events International in the full knowledge they would be illegally resold. Some $677,000 was made from the sale of the 74 tickets.